by Leigh, J.
Ass’shiri sighed. “Jath, go get Alodie and summon the town guard. This one will get to spend a few nights in lockup. I’ll stay here and make certain there are no return visits to the shed.”
Once the guard had taken their statements and dragged the human away, Hatori arrived and ran to his workshop to check on his wards. He returned to the boarding house, looking ruffled but satisfied. Alodie continuously apologized while serving tea and consoling words with a worried air.
“Anything missing?” Ass’shiri asked.
“No, thankfully,” Hatori said, sitting with the rest of them at the dining table. “None of your fault,” Hatori told Alodie in a remarkably kind tone. He then turned to Jathen and Ass’shiri. “You two did well tonight, thank you.”
“I lost the other one, though,” Jathen said, picking up his teacup. The blue flowers on the white ceramic mocked him like coy Lu’shun blues. “And with him, any explanation as to what they were after, and how they got past the ward.”
Hatori snorted. “They were after the amber. And they got though the ward because they were good. They used steel to wiggle through a small opening in the window and then disturb the actual charms.” He shook his head. “It’s a little-known fact that steel can pass through weak points in lesser wards—not as good as a negation stone, but still capable of disrupting the magic. This pair must have amplified the metal with their own magic atop of it. Very good. It might take me a few days, but I’ll fix it. Rhean himself won’t be able to breach that shed when I’m done.”
Ass’shiri shook Jathen’s shoulder lightly. “Come on. Let’s go to bed, sleepy.”
After bidding Hatori and Jephue a good night, Jathen yawned and went upstairs with Ass’shiri. While dressing for bed, he ran the night’s events over in his head. “Ya know, Ass’shiri, you went a little”—Jathen struggled to find the correct Tar’cil word—“dark back there.”
Ass’shiri paused in the process of pulling off his shirt. “Dark? What’s wrong with dark? Rhean’s dark.” Then, his eyes grew wide in understanding. “Oh, you mean like kat, sinister dark, not like ka, protective dark.”
“I guess.”
“No, no, I understand you now. I’m Clan, Jath. I am, by my very nature, scary to humans. All I was doing back there was playing on old stigmas, using it to an advantage. You know, acting.” He raised an eyebrow. “Haven’t you ever tapped into that deeper, nastier side of you and used it to make a point?”
“Only to my great disadvantage,” Jathen admitted, thinking of Skaniss sitting on him. The conversation also brought up the memory of Hatori telling him they were all just beasts deep down. Jathen relayed the comment to Ass’shiri.
“Chann’s forgetting the saying, ‘Never underestimate a human.’ I’ve seen and heard of humans doing some pretty damn bestial things all on their own.” He shook his head. “They’re not exempt from kat behavior. Not at all.”
Seems the night for not underestimating humans. Laying his head on his pillow, Jathen tried to chase away the feelings of regret and foreboding, but they hovered with him in the dark until, finally, his eyes fell closed.
A frigid wind bit into Jathen, the kind of cold he’d only ever read about in books on ice and snow. I’m dreaming again. He stared down at the sharp faces of hundred-heads-high cliffs. The details of the scene were crisper than before, but the feel of the dream was off—still not precognitive but not fully coincidental, either. A small sound made him turn and face a foggy mist reminiscent of a dusty, smoke-filled morning. Mikkal stood there in his sleek gray outfit, tossing something up and down in his hand. It wasn’t quite a ball, though it seemed sort of round… maybe metallic, the way it flashed in the light against the dark gray of his gloves.
“You are missing something,” Mikkal said in a voice that didn’t quite ring as his. It sounded fuller, more flippant, and decidedly cruel. “You’re going to die if you don’t guess what it is.”
Jathen felt a pain pierce his chest. Then a loud buzzing noise seemed to shake him apart.
With a yelp, he awoke, tumbling out of bed. As the memory of plummeting off a cliff dispersed, he saw Ass’shiri standing over him.
“I figured I’d let you sleep in, but I didn’t realize you were going to be out until noon and then nearly kill yourself getting up. You okay?”
“I’m all right,” Jathen said, despite the slight shaking of his legs. “Just got caught up in the bed sheets, I guess.” He snorted. “That or the ghost decided I needed to get up so she could make the bed.”
Ass’shiri chuckled. “Well, good, I was hoping to get my nap in if you don’t mind. You okay on your own for a bit?”
“I’ll manage.” Jathen gathered up some clothes. “I’ll get washed up and eat, then maybe talk Jephue into taking a walk down on the beach.”
“All right. Take care.”
“I will. Sleep well.”
After bathing, Jathen headed downstairs. He found Jephue in the shed, assisting a still-ruffled Hatori.
“I apparently can’t leave,” Jephue said, waving from the other side of the newly warded door. “And he’s far too involved at the moment to ask him to lower it so I can.”
“Eh, I sort of feel like being alone at the moment anyway.”
“Don’t do anything brash or stupid,” Hatori called from the depths of the workshop. “And stick to public areas!”
“I’m going to take a walk on the beach,” Jathen yelled. “That public enough?”
“Yes!”
Trying to shake off the dreams and bad feelings, Jathen took to the streets. As he walked, he realized he was heading toward the mei district. Not entirely certain what he was doing there, he crossed under the silver and white crest of Véridique Meison.
The place was quieter at that time of day, but he spotted the familiar face of Mei Clemi. She was perched on the little greeter’s stool, reading a book.
“Pardon me,” Jathen said. “I was wondering if Mei Ishane is in?”
Clemi looked up, blinked a few times, then smiled. “Yes, she’s just inside the parlor, talking with some of the other girls.”
“Thank you.” He stepped into the parlor.
Ishane sat amid a group of mei chatting with a couple of patrons. She appeared just as stunning as he recalled, dressed in pink silks tinting toward magenta. The effect was dazzling against her lavender scales. She took his breath away, and he stood in the door frame a moment, staring.
After a few minutes, Ishane glanced his way. “Jathen!” She stood and scampered over to him. “I had expected to see you back again much sooner.”
Guilt shot through him. Ass’shiri had been so insistent that a mei would just move on to the next person. Jathen had never considered she would be disappointed by his absence. “I’m sorry.”
She batted his arm playfully. “Don’t be so dour! I just meant you struck me as the type who bee-lines back to the first girl for a while before moving on.” She sipped her drink. “You surprised me, which is hard to do, mind. I expected you on my doorstep the next night.”
Jathen snickered, relieved and amused at the same time. “No, you had me pegged right. If left to my own devices, I would have been back as you said. Ass’shiri insisted I ‘play the field’ a bit more, as it were, figure out what I want.”
“Your bodyguard?”
“Friend, really. Almost a brother by this point.”
“A very wise and good friend.” She nodded. “He is right, you know. It can be better to go through a bit of trial and error first. And can I assume your return here indicates you’ve figured out what you want?”
He blushed. The last dreary worries about dreams fell away. “Well, I figured out what I didn’t want, if that’s any consolation.”
She laughed and, taking his arm, led him to a low couch, where she insisted he tell her about
it. They sat, and he explained, though he spared her some of the details. In the end, he had her laughing so hard that she almost spilled her drink.
She wiped a laughter tear from her eye as she and Jathen grinned at each other. “Oh, by Beleskie, I can’t apologize more on behalf of my order! It truly speaks to your constitution that you didn’t flee the district in terror and never return!”
“Yeah, well, Ass’shiri was rather insistent I keep trying.”
“A very good friend then.” She raised her glass to him. “He doesn’t know you came here, does he?”
“No.”
Ishane put her glass on the side table and leaned across the couch to place a lavender hand upon his knee. “Then you should go home and tell him.”
“Really?”
“If he’s really your friend, Jathen, he will understand. And even if he doesn’t completely, I’m sure he’ll at least let you make your own choices without taking it personally.” She squeezed his knee. “Come back tonight with a clear conscience. It’s been a while, and you’ve obviously had a time or two. I’m sure he’ll be willing to come back with you to assess whether or not the ‘big bad mei’ is out to hurt you.”
He laughed, again reassured but also a touch disappointed. “So I can’t take up any more of your time while I’m here now?”
She planted a sweet kiss just beside his lips. “Nope. One the of the first guidelines of the mei is to never supersede or subvert a genuine relationship between one’s bedmate and another. Be it husband, wife, parent, sibling, or even friend, it is our duty not to wantonly sabotage and to encourage honesty and communication between those who take precedence beyond ourselves. After all, a mei’s life is a transitory one, always seeking new knowledge and evolution through new experiences and partners.”
“But where does that leave you? If you are always encouraging those who come to you to move on?”
“Loving everyone and no one. At least until retirement.”
“And when is that?”
“Whenever we find someone we can’t let go of. Regardless of whether or not we end up staying with him.” She winked. “Now, off you go, my Tazu prince. See you tonight.”
Back at the boarding house, he broached the subject with Ass’shiri, trying to be as diplomatic about is as possible. “I’d really like to go back and see her again.”
“I don’t know, Jath.” Ass’shiri grimaced, shaking his head. “There’re plenty of women up in Fauve we haven’t tried yet.”
“I know, but the thing is… I did go see her today, just a quick visit.” Ass’shiri gave him a suspicious and slightly hurt look, and Jathen hastened to explain. “I just talked to her. She said if you were my friend, you’d understand. Then she shuffled me off with nothing but the advice that I tell you before doing anything else with her. I know you’ve worried about me losing my heart and all, but I just like her. And come on. I need to relax a bit.”
Ass’shiri sighed. “Yeah, you have had a string of rough luck there.” He gave a small smile. “All right, I’ll go with you. She’s right; I do understand. But understand this too.” His voice turned serious. “Just because you’ve hit a few weird or unsatisfying situations doesn’t mean she’s the best one out there. But yeah, I understand wanting another run at a good thing, especially after all the stuff’s been going on.”
“How about this? We’ll go see Ishane tonight like she suggested, and then we’ll take the train up to Fauve tomorrow with Hatori and Jephue when they go property hunting. That way, you can make sure I’m still getting my broader view. Fair?”
“Hey, it’s never been about being fair.” Ass’shiri grinned. “But yeah, I like the sound of that.”
The trip back to the mei district that night was much more pleasant than previous visits. Jathen could not hide his anticipation.
“Just don’t make me regret this,” Ass’shiri said.
“No regrets in love if we learn from each experience,” Ishane called playfully, before disappearing into the back with Jathen.
Jathen chuckled, his regard for her deepening despite Ass’shiri’s warnings. “I couldn’t have put it better myself.”
The room was different from before, walls outfitted in soft yellows and crisp lavenders, reminding him of Monortith colors. Taking a seat on the bed, he bounced a few times. “So what were you saying earlier about missing me?”
“In due time, my impatient little Tazu prince.” She giggled, rummaging through a low dresser by the door. “I have a present for you.” She turned around, grinning expectantly, and presented him with a piece of paper. “I found your name.”
“Really?” Scanning the heavy linen paper, he wrinkled his nose. “I don’t read Lu’shun very well.”
“Oh, of course, how thoughtless of me! I’ll have it translated to Tar’cil. In the meanwhile...” Slipping up onto the bed, she read over his shoulder. “Jathen, meaning ‘one who overcomes.’ It is an extremely old name, born of the hiding time after the Great Fall, and therefore holds multiple offshoots in human, Clan, and Tazu dialects. It’s also believed to be the name of Montage’s daughter’s firstborn son, who was integral to defending the first city in the battle against Prothidian Altar and the minions of the Red.”
“Wait. What?” He put his nose closer to the paper. “Did you read that right? That would mean Jathen was the name of the first male ruler of the Monortith bloodline—the First King. How could anyone in the Tazu Nation possibly not know that?”
“Well, they say it is a possibility that it was his name. They aren’t certain. After all, it was well over eight thousand years ago.” She shrugged. “It’s like how most people don’t realize all of the very first Avatars of the Children were human.”
“Really?”
“See?” Ishane gave him her sly smile. “In the time before the Great Fall, the other races didn’t exist. It wasn’t until after that each of the Twelve chose a race to call their own.”
Jathen nodded, recalling the tale of Bree and Bron and the Msāfryan. “That part I know. Montage had a single daughter with a Tazu woman. That daughter had two daughters and a son. The son was a war hero who had no children, the First King. The eldest daughter had a son who followed after his uncle in being a leader amongst the Tazu. That’s how the tradition of the brother and sister king and queen of Monortith came about, as well as the matriarchal bloodline. But Montage being human?” He shook his head. “That one I wasn’t aware of.”
“Most are not, as I said.” Shifting on the bed, she wrapped an arm around his shoulders. “In fact, if you think about it, they might not have followed the male bloodline because of the Tazu tendency to choose more than one male to father children.”
“How so?”
She toyed with his hair. “Well, if a Tazu has a child with a human, the child will look Tazu but lack the ability to shift, correct?”
“Yes.”
“But if the half blood were to have a child with a full-blood Tazu, their child would have the shifting Ability?”
Jathen nodded. “Yes, they would and, for the most part, be Tazu. But if a half blood had a child with a human, the child would be considered human.”
“Yes. So if Montage’s daughter was a half blood, and the father of her daughters were full-blooded Tazu, but the father of her son was human…”
“The original Tazu-King would have been only one-fourth the blood,” Jathen finished, the insight shaking him. “And he would appear mostly human.”
“Exactly.” She grinned, stroking his face. “My Tazu king.”
Laughing, he caught her chin with his fingers. He pressed his lips to hers, and they sank back onto the bed.
Chapter 31
Hatori frowned.
Ass’shiri had just informed him of his and Jathen’s plans for the day when they stepped out of the train and onto the
Fauve platform.
“More mei? What is this ruddy obsession with mei you two seem to have? Can’t you find anything else in a big city to occupy your time other than Beleskie’s promiscuous Walkers?”
“Well, we’re going to sightsee, too,” Jathen put in meekly. And in truth, I’d prefer to stick to only one mei, but I promised Ass’shiri. Last night was… perfect. For all the anxiety permeating the undercurrents of his life, Ishane seemed a decided and thorough cure.
“Look who is preaching,” Jephue said. His dark walnut hair with violet bangs framed his miffed expression perfectly. “I don’t remember you complaining about meisons when you met me in one.”
“Jephue, you were a mei?” Jathen asked.
Jephue chuckled. “No, no, I was considering the Path at the time, but I never came near to taking the vows.”
“Fine, fine,” Hatori said, obviously wanting to be done with speaking on his past. He snapped his splendid watch closed. “Go. Sightsee and get drunk with mei, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.” He prodded Jephue lightly with his cane. “It can lead to long-term nonsense you can’t get rid of.”
Jephue snorted, tipping Hatori’s hat. “Hypocrite.” Turning back to Jathen and Ass’shiri, he said, “We’ve a full afternoon of appointments to look at some possible shop locations. We’ll probably take dinner in the city then head back to Ca’june on the last train at eleven.”
“We’ll meet up with you two here at the station before then,” Ass’shiri said. His folded crossbow shifted a little, its renewed presence on his back an unsettling reminder to Jathen that Ass’shiri’s main purpose was to be a protector.
The day was cloudy and muggy, not ideal for sightseeing. Heat seemed to stick to the cobblestones, making them wavy and slick underfoot.
Jathen was further disappointed when, after a long walk, they found the Zirconia Building closed. “Renovating, apparently,” he said, reading the sign on the door. “Should reopen by the end of the week.”